


Barefoot All Night Long

by innie



Category: Thelma and Louise (1991)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 05:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12764574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/innie/pseuds/innie
Summary: Canon divergence: Thelma and Louise make it to the Vagabond Motel, where they drop off JD, pick up the money Jimmy wired, and fall into each other's arms.





	Barefoot All Night Long

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HerbertBest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerbertBest/gifts).



> Thank you, victoria_p (musesfool), for the beta!
> 
> Title from the Wilson Pickett version of "Barefootin'."

It probably was a sin, to be all revved up just from watching a tight little butt walking away in the rain, but Thelma decided she didn't give a good goddamn. Wasn't like she hadn't given JD a little something to think of in return – her dress hadn't exactly hiked itself up when she'd climbed into the back seat to sit by him and soak up the warmth he was putting out. The rain beating down on the car had made everything feel cozy and safe, at least until Louise'd marched out of the office and told JD to take a hike. He'd grinned like he thought he might still change Louise's mind and got to stepping, turning his head every few feet, smile fading with each step as Louise made no move to call him back. Thelma had watched him go, smiled and waved when he stopped at the corner to touch his hat to them, and sighed.

"He sure was cute."

"Charming as a snake," Louise said like that was the same thing. "C'mon, let's get out of the rain and put our feet up." She grabbed her bags and ran for the awning, key jutting out from her fist like a switchblade. Thelma wished she'd done a better job packing, because she had two big suitcases to haul inside and no clue what was in either of them. She followed in Louise's footsteps as best she could, squealing from the downpour as she went.

She squeezed by while Louise was trying to pull the key from the lock, entering their little corner of dry heaven; she could feel the envelope of money tucked next to Louise's skin, under her shirt. "I prob'ly look like a drowned rat," she said.

Louise snorted. "And here I thought you left all your fishin' gear in my car." 

Thelma, hand in her sopping hair, just blinked. She hadn't meant nothing by it, it was just words. Darryl woulda just agreed with her, the asshole, and made out like he'd done her the favor of a lifetime by marrying her. Snapping her up when she was young and stupid was more like it, she saw that now. She was the one who'd settled, in a big way. Let him find some other dumb young thing to cook his dinners and listen to his ignorant ass and put up with his stinky feet; she'd be on a beach with Louise in Mexico, happy as clams.

Louise came up behind her, gave her a quick hug, and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Sorry, Thelma, I didn't mean anything bad, alright? Just been a long day already. You want the shower first?"

Thelma shook her head, smiling when Louise laughed and pushed her away, trying to get out of the way of the sprinkler of her hair. She didn't want to get the king-sized bed wet and dirty, so she heaved her suitcases up on the long, low dresser while Louise stepped into the bathroom and turned the shower on. She could hear Louise singing something low and sweet – Louise had always been a good singer, back to when she still went to church and was in the choir – and decided she'd rather hear that than whatever nonsense was on TV or the radio. She dug around in her suitcases and finally found her nightgown and a fresh pair of underwear.

"All yours," Louise said, stepping out of the bathroom in just her towel, heading straight for the bedside table.

"Great," Thelma said, eyes drawn to Louise's brisk hands, refashioning the towel into a turban and rubbing lotion into her damp skin. What in the Sam Hill was wrong with her, acting like she'd just been granted the gift of sight when it was just her best friend in the room, familiar as her own shadow? Never mind that Louise looked right outta a dream.

Nothing, specifically what the hell she was supposed to do next, got clearer while she was in the shower – Louise liked her water _hot_ , Jesus Christ – and she felt as hazy as her reflection in the steamed-up mirror. She wrung out her hair as best she could and got dressed, shivering when she stepped out of the humid bathroom and into the coolness of their bedroom. Louise looked up from the fan of bills in her hands with a smile.

"You'll share, won'tcha?" Thelma asked and Louise just held her hands out like the whole pile of cash was Thelma's for the taking, or maybe like a magician asking her to pick a card, any card. "Not your life savings, Jeez Louise, I meant your lotion."

"I dunno, that's the expensive kind," Louise said, straight-faced, just daring Thelma to laugh. That was when Thelma was sure – it hadn't been JD's tight little ass that had her worked up. It wasn't even being away from Darryl. It was being next to Louise, looked at by Louise, best friends with Louise.

"I'll take you to the first spa we see in Mexico," she promised, and Louise, looking over her bare shoulder at her, was the one to laugh. "Hey," she said, seeing Louise tap the pile of bills into a neat little stack, "that ain't all we got, you know." The smallest glob of lotion made things easier; she worked her rings off her slickened fingers and dropped them on top of the manila envelope. "We can sell all of it, 'cept the earrings you gave me for Christmas."

Louise's shoulders got tense at that. "You really ready to do this?"

Thelma should have said something like, "All that and this too," and kissed the holy hell out of her. But her voice wouldn't work right, so all she did was nod and squeeze Louise's hands, forgetting about the big glob of lotion still on hers. She dropped Louise's hands and backed away, shrugging, just silly old Thelma, and bumped into the bed. She swung her legs up so her feet were climbing the wall, just the way she'd done when they were at Bible camp over the summers, back when Louise wore her hair in braids and hers had always been in a ponytail. She reached up and smoothed the lotion into her legs, then lay back down to get her arms.

She curled her toes when she saw Louise was looking at her big old feet on the wall. She'd been the tallest girl in the class since she was twelve, but she'd never quite gotten reconciled to just how big her feet were. Louise's eyes, mercifully, kept traveling, down her legs and up her body to her face. "I wish I hadn't left that photobooth strip of us on my mirror at home," Louise said, surprising her. "Woulda been nice to have our picture be the first thing we put up in Mexico."

"I brought my Polaroid," she said, twisting lazily on the bed to wave in the direction of her suitcases. "It's right on top in one of the suitcases."

Louise stepped over toward the dresser but ended up stopping at the foot of the bed and laid one hand over Thelma's eyes. "What color are my eyes?" she asked.

Thelma didn't even have to think. "Brown," she said, and Louise bent down and kissed her upside down, turning her inside out. She reached up and pulled, and somehow Louise landed on the bed with her, that face she knew so well so close. Louise's big brown eyes were fixed on hers even as her hand tucked a lock of wet hair behind Thelma's ear. "Took you long enough, Jeez Louise."

"Hush up," Louise said and kissed her again. Thelma hiked up her nightgown to get her bare thighs around Louise, but Louise was moving at a slower speed, like they were underwater, and hadn't done a damn thing about her flannel shorts or white tank top. Thelma reached for her waistband and then forgot what she was doing when Louise's tongue started doing slow, syrupy things to her mouth. This was like being laid out bare underneath the stars, and she cuddled Louise close and did her best to make her feel half as good as she was getting. Her hands slipped into Louise's shorts, which were soft as hell but tight enough that the flannel went a fair way to rubbing her knuckles raw. Louise's bottom was as smooth as a baby's.

Louise's hands hadn't left her face, and the feeling was so sweet Thelma couldn't stand it. She rolled, putting Louise on her back, and kissed along Louise's jaw and sucked a line down her neck. She could feel the laugh bubbling up from Louise's throat. "You think hickeys are the kind of inconspicuous accessory I need as a fugitive from the law?"

She pushed up to take her weight on her hands and grinned down at Louise's smiling face. "I'm less of a planning-type fugitive. My partner's the brains of the outfit."

"You wised up plenty," Louise said – _you get what you settle for,_ Thelma remembered her saying – and pulled her back down for kisses that lasted until the neon of the Vagabond Motel sign snapped off in the morning and they drove off into the sunrise.


End file.
